


One Day At A Time

by OswinTheStrange



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Complicated Relationships, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Jealousy, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-22 02:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14298315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OswinTheStrange/pseuds/OswinTheStrange
Summary: Reader loves Regina, but Regina and Robin are together. How will she handle this? How will this end? Will she reveal her feelings?





	One Day At A Time

It hurt to admit it, but they were good together. You watched from the end of the counter at Granny's as Regina and Robin sat in a booth eating lunch together. Regina smiled at something Robin said. A tiny smile tugged at the corner of your lips, but your heart ached. It was strange, how you went from being happy that Regina was happy to feeling almost physical pain because it wasn't with you. For a while, you'd hoped that maybe she would be happy with you. She almost had been. But with Robin in the picture, and how happy she was with him, you knew that wasn't going to happen.

"They make a good couple, don't they?" a voice asked, interrupting your thoughts.

You turned your head, seeing the tiny blonde fairy standing next to you, also watching Regina and Robin.

"Hey, Tinker Bell," you said. "I haven't seen you around recently."

"Been a bit busy," she said. "But I thought I might check up on those two." She nodded her head towards the couple.

"Well, they seem to be doing just fine," you muttered, an unexpected bitterness dripping from the words as you glared at the grilled cheese sandwich in front of you.

She blinked in surprise at your tone. "That’s... a little harsh."

You sighed. "I know. And I didn't mean it that way, I swear. I'm glad she's happy. Regina deserves it. More than most, actually. I just..." you trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"You just... what?" she asked.

You shrugged. "I don't know. It's hard to explain."

Tinker Bell tilted her head, eyes narrowed as she tried to figure you out. Suddenly, she gasped, eyes going wide. "Oh, I get it!"

Her voice had gotten loud and you hurriedly glanced around, making sure no one's attention had been caught. Luckily, the other patrons were caught up in their own conversations to pay attention to either of you. "What do you get?" you asked.

"You're jealous!" she exclaimed quietly, sitting down in the seat next to you.

If you'd been eating or drinking anything, you sure were you would have chocked on it. Luckily, you weren't, and instead managed to get out, "Jealous? Why should I be jealous?"  _There's no way she's realized, has she? No! She's barely spent any time around me and there's no way I'm_ that _obvious_ , you thought.

"Regina's found her true love! And you seeing them happy together, well, I'd imagine you'd want to find true love of your own, right?" she said.

You mentally breathed a sigh of relief. At least she hadn't realized what was really happening. But that also meant there was the problem of Tinker Bell thinking you were after true love.

"Not exactly," you said.

"Well, was else is it?" she asked.

You sat there silently, not knowing how to respond. It's not like you could say how you really felt. That would only lead to things like pity or her trying to get you to move on and you didn't feel like dealing with either. You merely shrugged again.

"There's not much that can be done, then. But I'm sure you'll find your true love soon. This town isn't very big, so you're bound to run into him eventually," she said.

"And what if they're not in this town?" you asked.

"Fate will find a way," she said. "It always does. Although, maybe I could help speed up the process? You seem absolutely miserable, so I'm sure Blue wouldn't mind using a tiny bit of pixie dust to lead you to your true love."

Your eyes widened. "No!"

Tinker Bell leaned back, blinking owlishly at your outburst.

"I mean, no thanks. I'm sure they'll come along eventually. And I don't know if true love is what I need right now," you said, blushing. You noticed you'd drawn the eye of a few of the patrons. Luckily, Leroy wasn't around. That man could gossip like no one's business, and you'd rather not have this spread around town.

"Why not?" Tinker Bell asked. "It could be good for you, rather than you sitting here moping."

"I just..." Don't want whoever my true love is to become a rebound for my feelings towards Regina. Don't want it to be Regina. Don't want it to  _not_  be Regina. "Think I want to focus on other aspects of my life before finding whoever they are." And honestly, the idea kind of scared you. There was some mystery person out there was your  _true love_? Someone you didn't know, didn't choose, was your  _soulmate_? The idea made you squirm.

Tinker Bell sighed. "It's your choice," she said. "But if you ever want help finding true love, you know where to find me." With that the stood up, waving goodbye to you and briefly waving at Robin and Regina on her way out.

Once the door had closed after her, your gaze went back to Regina and Robin. She seemed so happy. They both did. And it was because they were each other's soulmates. You wondered if you could be that happy if you found yours.

_Would finding my true love really be_ that  _bad_ _?_  you wondered. Regina spotted you looking at her and gave you a little wave, smiling brightly. Your heart pounded as you smiled and waved back. Looking back at your lunch so you didn't seem like a stalker, you realized your answer.  _If it means falling in love with someone else's smile and potentially falling out of love with hers, then yes, it is_ that  _bad._

*   *   *

The rest of the day went by slowly, thoughts racing through your head like a NASCAR race. You loved Regina with everything you had. You wanted to hold her, to protect her, to make her happy. But she'd found her true love, which meant you could only do one of those things.

So, with your decision made and a heavy heart, you went out to the woods.

The campsite of the Merry Men was filled with laughter and the smell of cooking meat. Even with all of this world's modern appliances, they still, for the most part, preferred to do things the old-fashioned way. You supposed it made sense. They weren't like you or anyone else who'd been part of the First Curse and given false memories of a 'normal' life in this world.

Robin was sitting in the circle, his son on his left and Little John on his right, listening and laughing as one of the Merry Men recounted an old adventure he'd had. You moved closer, a few twigs breaking under your feet. The sound must've caught Robin's attention, as he looked up and in your direction. If he was surprised to see you, he didn't show it and sent you a friendly smile. You couldn't quite return it, but you waved and motioned for him to come over.

He politely excused himself from the conversation and made his way over to you, still with that polite smile on his face. "Y/N, I wasn't expecting to see you here," he said.

"Well, I needed to talk to you and I figured you'd be here," you said.

"Is it about Regina? Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No. Well, sort of," you said, "Regina's fine, but I do need to talk to you about her. Mind if we move away from the camp a bit? Your friends are a bit..."

"Noisy?" he suggested.

You nodded. "I think that's a fitting word," you said. "Come on, this way." You followed the path back the way you came for a minute, making sure the raucous laughter wouldn't disturb you, with Robin following a few feet behind until you stopped and turned around.

"So, what was it about Regina that you wanted to talk about?" he asked.

"Okay, this may come out longer or harsher than I intend, and I apologize in advance, but here it goes," you said. You took a deep breath, then began to speak. "Regina is one of my oldest and  _best_  friends. Which means I don't want to see her get hurt. And while you're an honorable man and you seem like a really great guy and I know you'd never intentionally do anything to hurt her, I also have to say that if you  _do_  hurt her in any way, I will be obligated to make your life here miserable."

"I'd never hurt-" he began.

"I know," you said, interrupting him. "Like I said, I don't think you'd ever hurt her. And the two of you seem great together. But I care about her a lot. And I just want to see her safe and happy. Even if..."  _Even if it's not with me_. "But the protective friend warning thing is out of the way now, so... yeah.... I guess I'll see you around." With the awkward finish over, you turned to leave, only to be stopped midway.

"You love her, too, don't you?" Robin asked.

You froze, closing your eyes.  _Damnit!_ _Of course,_ he'd _be the one to figure it out!_  You took another breath, turning back to face Robin. His eyes didn't hold any anger or accusation. Just acceptance and sympathy. It almost hurt more that he was understanding about the situation, rather than being angry. "Yeah," you finally admitted. "I do."

Robin opened his mouth to say something. Suddenly, a twig cracked behind you. You turned to see who it was, only to have your heart plummet.

Regina was there, eyes wide and mouth hanging open on surprise, her eyes staring directly at you. "I... um..."

You didn't bother asking her how much she'd heard, since she'd obviously heard enough. Panic ran through you, your secret now discovered by the person you'd least wanted to find out.  _Oh, god, I've ruined it!_  you thought. Regina's lips moved, preparing to say something, but you reacted with blind fear. Raising your arms, you were silently grateful you'd already learned to teleport as you poofed away in a cloud of smoke, reappearing in your apartment.

"Congratulations," you muttered to yourself, "you've now ruined everything."

*   *   *

The evening passed in a blur. You'd paced for hours, so much so that you might wear down the floor boards until your neighbor came up to complain. After that you'd attempted to eat, only to find your stomach in knots. You'd tried a shower, turning it scalding hot and letting tears drip down your face until the water ran freezing cold. The rest of it you spent sitting on your couch, curled up with a random channel playing on the TV so you didn't have to sit in silence.

The entire time, the events of the day passed through your mind. Watching Regina and Robin at lunch, Tinker Bell offering to help you find your true love, speaking to Robin and admitting you love Regina, and, finally, turning to see Regina after she'd heard your admission. Each time the image of Regina standing there passed through your mind, you curled up tighter, hoping you could just curl into yourself and disappear.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. What  _did_  happen was a knock on your door. You ignored it, hoping whoever was there would go away. They knocked again. "Go away!" you called miserably.

"Not until we talk," they said. You sighed. You'd know that voice anywhere.

"Shit," you sighed. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. Still feeling too tired to get up, you waved your hand and unlocked and opened the door with your magic. "Come on in," you said.

Regina's heels clicked slowly as she entered your apartment, the door making another click as she closed it behind her. She instantly spotted you on the couch, knees pressed to your chest and arms wrapped around your legs. "Using magic to open your own door now?" she asked, trying to keep her tone light.

You shrugged. "Seemed easier," you said, eyes moving to the coffee table and keeping them glued there. It was better than looking at her, than seeing some kind of pity or a forced smile.

"Y/N, about earlier-" she began.

"If you're here to let me down gently, you don't have to. I should never have said anything, I know," you interrupted her.

Her heels clicked again, each step bringing her closer to you. "I'm not here to let you down," she said. She was next to the couch now. "May I?"

Another shrug. "Might as well," you said.

She sat down on the other side of the couch, turned to face you.

"I'm sorry," you said.

"No, Y/N-"

"But I am! I really shouldn't have said anything. It was stupid and-and selfish because you're happy and with Robin and-" the words fell from your mouth of their own accord, tears coming to your eyes for what must've been the hundredth time that night.

"I'm not with Robin," she said, reaching a hand out and resting it on your arm, making you look at her for the first time since you'd seen her in the woods.

Your words caught in your mouth. "What?" you managed to croak out. "But... the two of you... did I... mess it up?"

"No, not at all!" she exclaimed quickly. "You didn't have anything to do with it. Not in the way you're thinking, anyway."

"But you and Robin were  _happy_  together," you said. "And right after I... is when you're  _not_  together?"

"Robin and I... we weren't ever officially together. It was more of a... test run. And as much as I enjoy being in his company, I don't love him that way. Not like I love you."

Something hit your heart, but you couldn't comprehend what it was. Love? Joy? Hope? Fear of it not being true? Apprehension? "Me?" you squeaked.

Regina nodded, smiling.

"But what about true love and soulmates? What about fate?" you asked.

"When has fate ever been on my side, Y/N?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "And whoever said soulmates  _had_  to be together that way?"

You opened your mouth, only to close it. She had a point. You didn't think anyone had ever said soulmates  _had_  to be romantic or in love with each other. The same could be said for true love and the way the Furst Curse had broken, the love of a mother for her son, only further confirmed it.

"And what about Robin?" you asked, remembering what he'd said in the forest.  _You love her,_ too _, don’t you?_  "He loves you."

Regina sighed. "It's... complicated. And I know how he feels. But being with him while I still love you... it'd only make things difficult. And I don't think I could forgive myself if I didn't give the two of us a chance. I think he knows that."

You felt bad for Robin, but your heart couldn't help but soar at the words 'give the two of us a chance'. "So, this is real, then? Us?" you asked.

"If you want it to be, then yes," she said.

You nodded, an uncontrollable smile grew on your face, causing Regina to smile, too. "You realize how crazy and complicated things are going to get, right?" you said. "Not that I mind. Crazy and complicated is kind of the norm around here. It's just... gonna take some work to figure things out."

"That's okay. We'll find a way. We'll just take things one day at a time," she said.

"One day at a time," you repeated. "That works for me."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my lovely editor, Marrilyn  
> I hope you all enjoyed!


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